Although, if you didn't have time to do it last week because of Thanksgiving and work and other life obligations, fear not, because contrary to my writing tone right now, I'm not actually your mother, and you can do any (or none!) of this whatever you want lmfao.
Remember last week when I said it's helpful to put your life into categories? My categories are:
- Business
- Lifestyle/Fun Things
- Artist Career (because I'm an actor too)
- Health & Wellness
- Finances
And remember, yours will probably look different.↑
Using your list, you're going to go on a journaling deep dive. (And let's be real, you knew this was coming because I'm a huge journaling girly.)
Here are some general prompts I love to answer about all my categories:
- What were the top 5 best parts of [category] this year?
- What were the top 5 worst parts of [category] this year?
- What were some biggest lessons learned in the [category] part of my life this year?
Here are some business/career-related prompts I love to answer:
- What was your biggest professional accomplishment this past year? How did you achieve it?
- Did you have any career or business setbacks?
- Are you happy with your current job and position? Why or why not?
- What wasted the most time or held you back the most in business/career growth this year?
- Did you meet any career or business goals from last year? Why or why not?
Here are some lifestyle/recreational prompts I love to answer:
- What were the most fun social activities you participated in? Who did you spend time with and what made these times so enjoyable?
- Did you take any meaningful vacations or trips? Where did you go and what were the highlights?
- Are you happy with your current balance of life vs. work?
- Overall, how would you evaluate your sense of fun and fulfillment through recreation and lifestyle this past year?
Here are some health/wellness prompts I love to answer:
- What new healthy habits did you create, if any? How have those habits impacted your life?
- Were you better or worse about listening to your body's signals when life was stressful?
- What was the biggest health or wellness win over the past twelve months? What was the greatest setback?
- Did you devote more, less or the same amount of time to self care practices?
- Who or what had the most positive impact on your health goals and wellbeing?
And finally, here are some personal finance prompts I love to answer:
- Were you able to stick to the budget or financial goals you set last year? Why or why not?
- Did any unexpected expenses throw you off track financially?
- How well did you balance saving and spending this past year? Would you change this balance?
- All things considered, how financially healthy and stable do you feel right now? What still feels uncertain?
Now, if your brain is anything like mine, as you write about these experiences in different parts of your life from the last year, you'll immediately start to dream up potential solutions/new goals.
However, I want you to try your hardest to not do that!
There's a reason that none of these journal prompts are forward-thinking or solution-oriented. And that's because part of figuring out what you really care to change requires marinating on the past for at least a few days, so that you can approach the future with fresh new eyes.
And that's exactly what we're going to do in part 3, hitting your inbox next week. ;)
